Blogging in the English Classroom

Throughout the 21st century, many schools were able to secure more technological resources. More computers with internet access are readily available in school buildings for students to be able to use during school hours. The internet has had such a monumental impact on the teaching of writing. The writing strand of the Common Core Standards for Language Arts acknowledges the impact with the following standard: “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically” (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6). The Common Core Standards acknowledge that the internet has the ability to be an authentic platform for writing instruction because it engages people with cyber citizens across the world. One way that teachers seem to take advantage of the spirit of the platform in a way that can be consistent with the new standards is blogging. The NCTE’s position statement on the teaching of writing also indicates that writers only get better when they practice writing. Blogging is a way to practice writing constantly, so we see that this technological tool is an update to achieving certain learning goals.

In the English classroom, I think that blogging can be incredibly effective. In many writing classrooms across the country, teachers have their students keep a writer’s notebook. Students often write their ideas and a book and only share their notebooks with the teacher. During some workshop activities, some students can engage in a dialogue about the contents of another’s notebook. However, blogging is great because when students write about the content taught in the classroom and their own lives, other students in the classroom can finally engage in a conversation about ideas that would only appear in the writer’s notebook.

When it comes to what kind of work I would have students do on the blog, it could vary. I can have some structured activities where I have students answer questions or complete some kind of task. Students can also complete unstructured activities where they can just freely write about topics of their choosing.  Thus, blogging is a truly dynamic platform that can serve many pedagogical purposes. I can have it serve many different learning goals. Students can also comment on their classmates’ blogs, so there is a free exchange of ideas. The writer’s notebook takes a digital form, and it becomes a much more democratic text. Most importantly, this blogging platform fulfills the Common Core Standard I talked about earlier. Blogging can also be like a formative assessment if utilized correctly because it can provide checks for understanding. If I see that students are struggling with a particular aspect of writing or do not understand a reading I assigned, then I can change my instruction to fit the needs of the students.

I have discussed how Google Drive can be an effective pedagogical tool in a previous blog post. However, students can post a URL to an essay that they uploaded onto Google Drive on a blog so other students can view it. Other students can receive input from their classmates through the comment section of a blog. Thus, blogging is great because it can support the writing process by allowing peer conferencing to take place on the internet. Students can gain support from many other classmates, and this process can take place during any time. Thus, the peer support in the writing process is not restricted to just classroom time.  In addition, students from other classes and people from the world can comment as well. The audience for classroom writings is no longer restricted to just other students from the classroom. When students write in their online blogs, they engage with the real world. Blogging can also be a good platform to teach students about how important an audience is; thus, it seems to serve many useful pedagogical purposes.

One of the drawbacks that I think is possible is that many students do not feel like they want to share their work publicly. Some students do not like showing their work to other students because they feel they subject themselves to ridicule from their peers. Teachers need to make sure that their classroom environment is a safe one where students are able to trust each other. Another issue can be the many parents may feel that they do not want their students engaging in tasks that have to do with the internet.

In addition, many students may also feel that blogging is a chore, so they may not want to do it on their own. Thus, it seems like teachers would need to assign a grade to the blogging; however, that also seems to undermine intrinsic motivation of students. Educators definitely need to address this paradox because it is not an easy one to fix. This has always been a problem with assessment of informal writing tasks. Teachers also need to understand that students should know why blogging could help them. Teachers need to make the pedagogical goals very clear. Otherwise, this technology can fail to achieve its purpose in transforming the way students learn and interact with the world. Finally, teachers have model acceptable online behavior. With commenting, teachers need to explain to students how to create constructive comments because when a student says a particular sentence is vague, they could confuse the reader. Students also need to refrain from making cruel comments that border on personal insults as well.